Egypt's women: a revolution in thought?

Wednesday 30 May 2012 12.24 EDT
First published on Wednesday 30 May 2012 12.24 EDT

With the elections nearing, it seems that all has gone quiet in Al-Tahrir Square. But for the occasional clash between civilians and the police, it seems that the people of Egypt are done making demands. Given that the world's eyes are on Syria at the moment, one could be forgiven for thinking that in the face of the upcoming elections, the same Egyptians who marched Mubarak out of power might have gone home; that the revolution is over.

This is not the case, says Iman Emi, a mother of two living in Cairo. "The country is on hold", she says, "until we settle and elect the president and the new government bears its responsibilities". Much like the quiet that comes before the storm, Egypt is bracing itself for any eventualities that will result from the coming election.

The women of Egypt are holding their breath. When the new government is elected later this month, it will be they, among others like the Coptic Chrstians, who will bear the consequences. Their success in achieving equal rights will determine whether the uprising of January 25th 2011, which paved the way for the Arab Spring, was a success. If the new government does not push the agenda for women's rights, it will have undermined the hopes of those who fought and died for a better Egypt. After all, how significant is the freedom won in the revolution, if the women of Egypt are deprived of the fruits of that freedom?

The women's revolution has outlasted (or at least out-shouted) the original uprising largely for two reasons. For one, the absence of women on governmental committees has not gone unnoticed. Vickie Langohr reports in Foreign Policy that government ministers are actively barring women from taking ministerial positions because they claim it would be unsafe for them to do so. Iman, who considers herself to be among the empowered women in Egypt, believes that when the temporary government was put together, it "brought to parliament a few individuals whose beliefs belong to the medieval century". This medieval attitude is sadly being reflected in the policies of the candidates for the next election.

Military cruelty has also provoked demonstrations by women, such as the Blue Bra demonstration in December- the largest demonstration by women in Egypt in almost a hundred years. When images and videos of a woman being stripped and brutally attacked by the military went viral, the country took again to the streets, this time in defence of its daughters. The image of the young woman, whose abaya was pulled over her head exposing her blue bra, marked the beginning of a new kind of fight.

This fight is not for equal rights- liberation is what is being demanded. Liberation through equal rights. When American-Egyptian Mona Eltahawy published, "Why do they hate us?" in the May/June issue of Foreign Policy, she sparked her own revolution: a thought revolution. The aim of the piece, she says, is to "remove the Mubarak in our mind, the Mubarak in our bedroom, and the Mubarak in our street". What she is calling for is a more meaningful shift in attitudes towards women. In other words, if women are free by law, but are not free in the eyes of their oppressors, which Eltahawy claims are men, then they are not truly free.

Compelling as Eltahawy's case is, once cannot help but feel that women no longer see themselves as victims. Moreover, if the new government stands in the way of women achieving equal citizenship they will not simply return to life under the veil, toiling obediently in their homes. No, the seeds that were sown in the revolution were hugely significant, and what we are seeing now is the rise of a more confident woman, willing to fight for her rights.

Some have chosen to fight in the court, such as Samira Ibrahim, who took legal action against a military doctor who performed 'virginity tests' on her and seven other female demonstrators in March. Despite the doctor being acquitted, the fact that the case made it to court at all is significant.

The fact that women like Samira Ibrahim feel secure in fighting increasingly public battles over such subjects is important. It tells us that while men may be trying to make victims of women-through institutional discrimination or otherwise- women are not making victims of themselves. Their self-esteem is evolving. They have found their right to self-determination, and it is this that is at stake if the new government does not recognise its responsibility to accommodate the rights of women into the new constitution.

A survey by Amnesty, however, gives us little reason to be hopeful. Amnesty recently asked parties running in the upcoming election to sign a "human rights manifesto". Point nine of the manifesto addressed women's rights. In total, only twelve of the fifty-four parties either signed the manifesto or agreed orally. Of those twelve, five did not agree to point nine.

All is not lost, however. Those who fought, or witnessed those who did, know now that they can fight. Some have become increasingly creative in broadcasting their demand for women's rights, like Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, who caused controversy last year when she posted a nude photo of herself on her blog as an expression of outrage at the existing discrimination in Egyptian society.

Egypt is doing all that it can at present. Despite all its tactical strength and creativity, however, it needs an ally in the international community who must remind the future president of his obligation to commit to a programme of women's rights reform. "The Egyptian woman is an essential part in rebuilding democracy," argues Ms Emi. It is critical for the developed world to ensure the success of women who are fighting for their freedom. We must support the women of Egypt.